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I've also groomed many vets dogs and noticed similar conditions. However, there has been some instances where I have been so-so-so-SO f'n busy that I've not had it in me to groom my (four) dogs and let them go between grooms a bit longer than I should. Never matting or splayed nails but I wouldn't bring them out in public and boast that I was a dog groomer...lol

I've also groomed many vets dogs and noticed similar conditions. However, there has been some instances where I have been so-so-so-SO f'n busy that I've not had it in me to groom my (four) dogs and let them go between grooms a bit longer than I should. Never matting or splayed nails but I wouldn't bring them out in public and boast that I was a dog groomer...lol

The joke at agility is that the groomers dog (MY dog) always has fuzzy feet Tonight, as he completed a run I realized he had two little mats, one in each arm pit.
There's another (retired) groomer that has a few dogs of a double coated breed that are always tufting. Cracks us all up because, as they say, the cobbles kids have no shoes.
But yes, there's a difference between fuzzy toes or tufts vs. a solid mat dog with splayed feet from overgrown toenails and raging ear problems due to negligence.
We groomed a tech's dog a few years ago. Very nice dog, pretty well kept, but the dog was always so filthy that I always silently wondered if the dog took up residence in the woodpile out back.

(Can I, as a dog sport exhibitor, say for a moment it pains me to no end to see the dogs in the obedience or agility ring that look like they haven't seen a brush, comb, or bath in years? I watched a great owner handle a great little Papillon a few years ago and was discouraged to see the dog was overgrown with coat, long tufts of fur between the toes and about 2 months worth of poop stuck to his butt. Maybe it's because I'm a groomer but my dogs NEVER see the ring in any form except being freshly groomed, trimmed toes, dremeled toenails and loose hair removed. I don't think it's fair to ask a judge to examine a filthy dog when doing the SFE...)

Remix D's of when I went to my first dog show last year... Groomer friend was showing her rottie.... Perfectly groomed shiny not shedding a single hair. A rottie friend of hers walks up with a soft bulldozer of a rot and as i asked if I could make a fuss of him ( was after the show and I know if dog show people are like cat show people they don't like you touching with out permission) and he was disgustingly filthy.. As soon as my hand touched him I could feel the coat was thick with product and out right dirty but I had to make a fuss of him. My hands came offa dirt brown and i smelt like a OYA farm dog I thought part if showing a dog meant it had to be well groomed ?? Sorry , I digressed .....back to the topic .....

I groom my vets little terrier , he's bathed weekly with no trimming ( he really suits the scruffy terrier look !) Hes a little rescue and he sherieks the place down should you lift him . but he's well mannered and very sweet on the table [/QUOTE]

I read a book about Obedience handling once, I still have a copy buried in my bookshelf somewhere. But what stood out to me was the chapter on appearance and how the author felt that showing up to an obedience (or rally, or agility, or or or) trial looking like you'd just done yard work with a dog in tow that looked like he or she hadn't seen a brush, comb, or a bath in a year was not just a poor presentation, it was an insult to the sport and an insult to the judge, club, and trial hosts. That stuck with me and made perfect sense.
The handler I was watching that day was dressed smartly and neatly. Her clothes were neat, clean and pressed. Her handling was great and her dog was good, but why on earth would anyone spend hours and hours training their dog and not spend an extra hour or two getting them to look their best? I'm not patting myself on the back as we still do some serious screw ups in handling and have our share of NQ's, but my dogs never, ever, ever attend any sort of function or trial unless they're clean and looking nice. We have attended rinky-dink trials and large trials as well, and many of them have photographers. I want those pictures and those pictures show clean, combed dogs leaping over jumps or barreling through weave poles. Our obedience win pictures show clean, shiny dogs. Why on earth would anyone want to memorialize their dog looking like they've just been hanging out in a dump truck?
(Sorry for the mini-rant!! Just kind of gets under my skin..)